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Research In Motion rebrands itself as 'BlackBerry'

Thorsten Heins, CEO of Research in Motion, introduces the BlackBerry 10 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Barely 30 minutes into the unveiling ceremony for Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry 10 in New York, CEO Thorsten Heins made another significant announcement.

“Today is the perfect time for another big announcement I want to share—from this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry!” he said. “It is one brand. It is one promise. Our customers use the BlackBerry, our employees work for BlackBerry and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry everywhere in the world.”

While not exactly ground-breaking, it makes sense RIM would want to mark this moment in the company’s history with more than the new phones and OS. With all the negative hype surrounding its name over the last couple of years, perhaps Heins & Co. feel that if the new BlackBerry10 is a homerun they want the entire company, name and all, to ride that rainbow. If anything, it represents an official break from the past.

“The new starting line that today represents begins with one consistent brand,” said Heins. “A brand that is recognized around the world. BlackBerry has changed. We have redesigned the BlackBerry experience. We have re-engineered our products. We have re-invested this company and we want to reflect this in our brand. We are now more than ever a company united in our vision for mobile computing. And it all starts today with our re-naming and the global launch of BlackBerry 10.”